USU

UPDATE - 3/11/2015: It's been almost 3 years since I graduated in May of 2012 from USU's online post-bacc program so the information I have on the program is waaaaay out of date! I've heard that there have been a few professor changes and tuition changes so I will only be able to answer very general questions about attending school online.

The best places to get the most up to date information about attending USU and the classes are the Utah State Online COMD Group! to talk to current students and USU's online post-bacc page to get info straight from the program.

Related post by @SLP_Echo: The SLP Post-baccalaureate Plunge. She has compiled a list of other post-bacc programs, so there are more options to explore besides USU!

First Week - Finished!

It's Tuesday night and I am finished for classes for the week.  Yep, you read that right... I have one class on Mondays, three classes on Tuesday and then I am finished for the week.  Good thing though, is that almost all of my classes have a few outside of class components besides homework and studying for exams.

For my diagnostics class, we are being broken up into pairs and will be matched with a faculty member to perform a diagnostic in our university clinic.  We also have to set up an observation with a local SLP to observe (or participate in - if the SLP is comfortable with that) a speech and language evaluation of either a child or an adult.  For our aphasia class, we have to set up an observation of a treatment session (either individual or group) or attend a meeting of an aphasia support group.  Then for our audiometric disorders class, we are putting together a hearing conservation project, then going out into the community to a class (1st grade classroom or a middle school classroom, etc.) teach them about the anatomy and physiology of the ear, the loudness scale, hair cells damage, and hearing conservation.

There are also a lot more presentations this semester in comparison to last semester... I definitely need practice with public speaking so I am glad we will have many opportunities to do so.  My goal is to not use note cards at all since I tend to over-rely on them.  This semester I'm also going to set up some volunteer hours with the SLP at the Autism Collaborative Center on campus.  It's definitely going to be much busier this semester compared to last!

Overall I am really excited about this semester.  I love that we will go out into the community to observe and to teach.  Going off of first impressions of first days in classes, my favorite so far is diagnostics and aphasia as a close second!
     
Oh! Another cool thing about today - I met someone who also did the Utah State University online post bachelor's in communicative disorders and deaf education!  We overlapped by three semesters so we probably had a class or two together but didn't know each other then.  She's in two of my classes this semester and happened to mention that she attended USU online.  I've only "met" my former classmates online and not in person, so it was great to finally meet someone IRL.  Definitely made my day!

Looking Back: Fall '12

I survived my first semester as an speech-language pathology graduate student!!  There were a few moments around finals that I wasn't so sure I was going to make it, but I did.  :)

Looking back on my first semester in SLP grad school, I thought I would focus on all the positives and here are all the good things that have come out of going to Eastern Michigan University so far:

-My clinical methods class: I learned so much in that class.  The prof. had many relevant personal examples about working with various clients in different settings.  He really explained things well and helped us analyze our mistakes.  He also gave us many opportunities for "hands on" practice with case studies, videos, and developing goals in small groups collaboratively as well as working individually on our own.  My favorite class this semester and it has made me

The end is in sight!

The end of my first semester in grad school is in sight!  There's lots to do between now and my last final, but it's good to be almost finished.  A lot of this semester has felt like review, which means that Utah State got me off to a good solid start. 

   

There have been a few unexpected surprises this semester, the biggest being a much longer time in grad school than expected (7 semesters vs the typical 5 semesters of most programs).  The other unexpected surprise is a very unorganized professor (who teaches two of my classes this semester) and her very specifically-vague directions with a dash of inconsistent grading.  Yes, specifically-vague... and sometimes the inconsistent grading was in my favor and other times it was not.  I definitely have higher expectations for grad school professors... but, yeah... moving on.

Next semester should have a bit more new information and I will also one step closer to getting clinic hours.  I can't wait to get into clinic!

My Stats...

1st undergrad (History B.S.) gpa: 2.74

Post-Bachelor’s in Communicative Disorders at Utah State University Online: 3.94

GRE Scores: V - 157

                    Q - 144

Writing Score - 3.5

Oh, and the above GRE scores are from the 2nd time I took them.

Yes, my first gpa was crap.  Eh, my GRE scores were average.  I applied to 3 schools and received rejections from two, an acceptance to one.  All it takes is one.

I still got into grad school for SLP even though my stats weren’t that great.  I really believe what saved me was my post-bacc at USU and my overseas travel/teaching experience.  I definitely recommend going through a post-bacc program like Utah State University’s online program to make your application more solid.  If I can make it into grad school with stats like above, then no one should give up if this is truly your passion.  

It can be done!  :) 

Clinic

Many of my former classmates from USU are posting about their clinic requirements and are already seeing clients in their first semester.  From what I’ve read about SLP graduate programs, clinic in the first semester is the norm.  Not at Eastern Michigan.  I won’t start at the university clinic until my 3rd semester and even before I can start, I will have to take and pass the Clinical Readiness Test with a score of at least a 85%.  If I pass and after I complete my university clinic, I will have a choice of either 2 medical externship placements (1 adult, 1 child) OR an adult medical placement and a school OR an adult medical placement and a school placement while pursuing a teaching credential. I like it that we get to ease into it all, but at the same time I am kinda itching to get “my hands dirty.”  

About Me...

I'm 38 years old and I've just started graduate school for speech-language pathology.  I found out about my love for SLP in a very roundabout way.

I started off at college, way back in 1992 as a pre-med major and ended up changing my major 6 times before dropping out of school.  I dropped out with a 2.2 gpa and no idea what I wanted to do with my life.  I finally returned to (a different) school, still with no idea what I wanted to do with my life but decided that I needed to graduate from college.  I ended up graduating with a history degree and maintained over a 3.5 every semester which brought my overall gpa up to a 2.74.  Not great, but I graduated.

My degree allowed me to join the Peace Corps twice (Morocco and Tanzania) as well as allowed me to teach English in South Korea for 5 years and travel to other countries during holidays.  It was in my final year in South Korea that I decided that I needed to return to school to find a career.  A friend suggested that I look into SLP, I researched it and I was hooked.  I returned to school Feb. of 2010 and was enrolled at Utah State University's online 2nd bachelor's in communicative disorders and deaf education for that following Fall.  I. Loved. It.  I knew I had finally found the perfect fit.

I ended up kicking ass at USU and graduated with a 3.94 gpa.  I knew I had to really focus at USU because I had an undergrad gpa that would be looked down on by grad schools.  I applied to 3 schools, was rejected from 2 and was accepted to one.  All it takes is one.  :)

So here I am at Eastern Michigan University and I don't think I could have picked a better fit for me.